Will The Twilight Saga Work as a TV Series?

7 years ago by Nadya Vlassoff

The Twilight Saga was back in the news this week after Lionsgate purchased Summit Entertainment, the studio that brought the popular vampire series to life on the big screen. Following the purchase, Lionsgate CEO, Jon Feltheimer addressed the possibility of The Twilight Saga surviving beyond Breaking Dawn, the final film in the series that hits theaters on November 16. Although it’s still too early to tell if The Twilight Saga will continue after Breaking Dawn, fans could eventually see the popular franchise on television. In a statement following the purchase of Summit, Feltheimer did say that he would hope the series could continue as a possible television series given the success of the franchise.

So, will The Twilight Saga work as a TV series?

From a business standpoint for Lionsgate, it’s a no brainer. I mean, come on! The Twilight Saga has earned upward of $700 million with one more film on the way. But with The Twilight Saga as a possible TV series, my biggest concern is where things would go creatively since we already know the storylines of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Creatively, it could be both good and bad. And if not wildly good, then The Twilight Saga on TV could be horribly bad. No one wants to see The Twilight Saga go out on a sour note with a bad TV series.

But let’s get this out of the way upfront, don’t expect a Twilight Saga TV series with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart or Taylor Lautner. They’re too big on the big screen for the small screen and they have too many film projects in the works. However, a Twilight Saga TV series could land a few supporting Twilight Saga actors who are either already on television or would be in need of work. And this makes much, much more sense than trying to recast Edward, Bella, and Jacob. But recasting actors in film and television has been a fairly common practice in Hollywood for decades. so you never know. Imagine the uproar if THAT happened!

Stephenie Meyer already published The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, a companion novella that continued the Twilight Saga world through the character of Bree Tanner, played by actress Jodelle Ferland in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. So we know that supporting characters may be the way go since Meyer already laid the foundation with Bree despite the “short” but significant aspect of the story.

Another, more obvious way to go would be to focus on Renesmee, the hybrid child of Edward and Bella from Breaking Dawn. A 15-year old butt-kicking Renesmee has TV series written all over it. Interestingly, in a 2010 interview with MTV, Stephenie Meyer addressed the possible future of The Twilight Saga stories beyond Breaking Dawn. “If I were to go ahead with the Cullen universe — and honestly I’ll do it for myself,” said Meyer to MTV. “Whether I publish it or not is questionable at this point, but the narrators that I would go ahead with … would be Renesmee and Leah. Probably about the age of five, which would be about 16 or 17 for Renesmee.”

But that’s just if Stephenie Meyer decides to write more books. And what about the previously scrapped Midnight Sun that Meyer shelved? Why not go this route for a Twilight Saga TV series? There are tons of possibilities.

Shows like The Vampire Diaries and True Blood have been extremely successful in tapping into the success of The Twilight Saga. Past shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel were huge hits that are still loved to this day. The Joss Whedon series created a huge cult following.

For now, I won’t hold my breath for a Twilight Saga television series. If I were a vampire, however, that wouldn’t be a problem anyway.

Do you think The Twilight Saga could work as a TV series?

What do you think?

Nadya Vlassoff joined The Deadbolt in 2009 and currently serves as associate content director and contributing editor. A former writer for the boutique apparel and accessories blog MelroseStreet.com, Nadya has interviewed and worked with a variety of top names in pop culture, fashion, entertainment and sports.